Feel horrible after a good night's sleep and better after a bad night...what is this?

[jkl]

I'm dealing with what may be adrenal fatigue (all typical blood tests normal except Vit D, and I'm supplementing for that.)  The strangest thing is that I feel horrible morning (and often all day) fatigue when I get 7-8 hours sleep, but on the nights the baby is up and my sleep is interrupted, I feel better.  Why would this be?  My 1 year old slept through the night for months back in the spring, and I slept fine too, but felt horrible.  Anyone have any ideas?  Could this somehow be cortisol related??

[Mergath]

The only thing I can think of is that during the nights where you sleep longer, you might be waking up smack dab in the middle of a sleep cycle. That happens to me if I try to get up after exactly eight hours. I can sleep for six hours or nine hours and feel great, but anything in between and I feel like crap all day. 

[Garga]

Maybe you're waking in the middle of a deep cycle of sleep. Are you waking after 7-8 hours by an alarm clock (or baby?) Or are you waking naturally?

 

If someone else is waking you (clock, baby), you're possibly in your deepest part of the cycle when you're woken. When that happens it can take an hour or so to fully wake from the cycle, even if you're on your feet and walking around. You're still terribly groggy.

 

If you feel exhausted when you wake naturally after 7-8 hours of sleep, then I don't know what that is. Unless your 7-8 hours of sleep comes on the heels of many nights of being sleep deprived. One night of good sleep will not make up for many nights of deprivation. It can take a week or two to recover from light deprivation and months of solid sleep to recover from more severe deprivation.

 

I guess you'll need to take a hard look at the amount of sleep you're actually getting over periods of 2 weeks or so at a time. It all adds up.

[VeganCupcake]

This is totally how I feel the first few times my babies sleep well. I think it's just recovering from the extreme sleep deprivation. I have heard the same from other mom friends.

[Chris in VA]

Are you dreaming differently on the nights you wake? This is a stretch (I am more inclined to agree with the sleep cycle posters), but perhaps it has to do with something not just physical.

[jkl]

The only thing I can think of is that during the nights where you sleep longer, you might be waking up smack dab in the middle of a sleep cycle. That happens to me if I try to get up after exactly eight hours. I can sleep for six hours or nine hours and feel great, but anything in between and I feel like crap all day. 

Hmmm.  Maybe.  I'll have to think about that and see if I can figure it out.

[jkl]

This is totally how I feel the first few times my babies sleep well. I think it's just recovering from the extreme sleep deprivation. I have heard the same from other mom friends.

That's what I thought too, but then the baby slept well for months and I never felt any better.  Then she started waking up in the night and I felt better again.  Now she'll have a good stretch for a week and I'll feel horrible, then she'll have a bad night and I'll feel better.  Sleepy, but not exhausted.  It's so strange!

 

Are you dreaming differently on the nights you wake? This is a stretch (I am more inclined to agree with the sleep cycle posters), but perhaps it has to do with something not just physical.

Not sure--I'll have to try and pay attention to this.

 

Maybe you're waking in the middle of a deep cycle of sleep. Are you waking after 7-8 hours by an alarm clock (or baby?) Or are you waking naturally?

 

If someone else is waking you (clock, baby), you're possibly in your deepest part of the cycle when you're woken. When that happens it can take an hour or so to fully wake from the cycle, even if you're on your feet and walking around. You're still terribly groggy.

 

If you feel exhausted when you wake naturally after 7-8 hours of sleep, then I don't know what that is. Unless your 7-8 hours of sleep comes on the heels of many nights of being sleep deprived. One night of good sleep will not make up for many nights of deprivation. It can take a week or two to recover from light deprivation and months of solid sleep to recover from more severe deprivation.

 

I guess you'll need to take a hard look at the amount of sleep you're actually getting over periods of 2 weeks or so at a time. It all adds up.

I'm not waking up naturally, and I have had horrible sleep for years.  I didn't expect to bounce right back, but I thought after months of good sleep I'd start to feel a little better...

 

Thanks everyone for your ideas!

[J-rap]

I know that if I've been a little short on sleep for several nights and then have a really good, long night's sleep, I always feel sluggish the following day.  I personally think it's because I'm suddenly on a very different schedule, and my body can't quite figure it out.

 

 

[sbgrace]

I find that I feel more rested when when I'm under my actual needed sleep (5-6 hours for example), but tend to feel more tired if I'm closer but not quite at 8 (say 7 hours for example). I've always been that way. I have assumed the sleep deprived me has adrenaline to compensate or something similar, partly because I can't do that too long before it catches up to me. Maybe it's sleep cycles though.

[VaKim]

I'm the same. I rarely sleep well anymore, but on the odd night that I do, I find myself sleepy the whole next day. But on normal nights (when I don't sleep), I am fine the next day. Crazy.

[Katy]

Adrenaline and oxytocin make you feel better when you're dealing with a newborn.

 

Sleep cycles are part of it.  Try to sleep in 90 minute multiples.  ETA: if a kid wakes you up at 6, try getting up at 5:30 instead & see if that helps.  If not, try at 5.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

If your insurance covers it, or you can otherwise swing it, a sleep study could be helpful.

 

My son doesn't have 90 minute cycles; they're 180 minutes +. Because of this, he still needs a good 11-12 hours of sleep.

 

I have obstructive sleep apnea and without CPAP, slept like you; long sleep made me feel crappier. With CPAP, 6-8 hours is perfect.

[Paige]

I'm the same way and I don't have a newborn or infant or even toddler. It's so bad that I've thought I should just screw it and plan on only getting 5 hours of sleep! I also have normal labs and low vit D, but don't know if it's related. It's not because my sleep cycle is disrupted because I wake naturally. I think possibly I just do better on less nightly sleep supplemented by a short mid day break. I've heard too much sleep causes fatigue (paradoxically), so maybe my attempts to get more sleep are backfiring.